Davey Rogulich, Stagehand and Maker

Show and Tell #396: Davey Rogulich

Davey Rogulich is a Stagehand and Maker from Albuquerque, NM. He has toured internationally with Tricklock Theater Company and throughout the US with “Blue Man Group” and “Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan!”. He is currently the Technical Director of NDI New Mexico at The Hiland Theater in Albuquerque and the owner of Davey Craft & Tools. His hobbies include woodworking, leather working, aircraft restoration, collecting tools, and caring for orchids in his greenhouse. You can find Davey on Instagram @daveycraftandtools.

TOOLS:
0:00 – Intro
1:03 – Knipex 12 62 180, Self Adjusting Wire Stripper
8:47 – Snap-On TMS4E 1/4″ drive Speeder
17:49 – Titanium AAA Flashlight by Maratac REV 5
25:21 – Volty Switch Keychain Multimeter

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01/12/24

Cheapest Places to Live/(Almost) Free Accommodation/End of Mileage Runs

Nomadico issue #86

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

The Cheapest Places to Live in 2024

Each year I do an updated post on the cheapest places to live in the world and supplement my own research and interviews with crowdsourced data from Numbeo, Nomadlist, and WeNomad. Currency exchange rates impact changes the most, and this coming year you’ll find better prices than before in Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, and Brazil. I removed my own adopted country of Mexico after a peso value rise of 15% in 2023. See a quick list at the top of the article then scroll down for explanations on the top contenders.

Pros and Cons of Luggage Trackers

Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott is syndicated on a lot of news sites and publishes articles at his own Elliot.org, with a lot of the problems he solves involving travelers trying to get their owed refunds or compensation. I wrote back in August about using Airtags and Tile Mates as luggage trackers on checked bags, but apparently the thieves on the inside know how to remove them and the airlines often won’t use the tracking data you provide. Read the full story here.

Almost Free Places to Stay

Here’s a good New Year’s resolution to add: pay less for your travel accommodation in 2024. We’ve previously talked about Noad Exchange (a past advertiser) for places that are well set up for travelers who need to work. I also belong to the huge Homeexchange.com platform that I’m using this month in Airbnb-banned NYC. Many non-homeowner blogger friends belong to Trusted Housesitters, which arranges free stays in exchange for taking care of pets and maybe watering the plants. Think of these as a no-brainer investment decision for frequent travelers and nomads: pay an up-front fee to join the club, then benefit from stays where the costs range from zero to just a cleaning fee. It’s hard to find any investment with such a high potential return.

The Changing Face of Frequent Flier Points

Remember mileage runs? Apparently they’ve almost gone extinct as most airlines have transitioned from rewarding miles/kilometers flown to rewarding spending instead. Here’s a good overview of how policies have changed at the major carriers, with a branded credit card and lots of spending on it being the best shortcut to status now if you’re not a traveling salesperson. One interesting twist: Alaska Airlines may start rewarding passengers extra for spending on carbon offset programs. A noble incentive move for the most frequent fliers—and polluters. (via Kevin Kelly)

01/11/24

What’s in my NOW? — Kevin Beach

issue #167

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I am an account manager at Figma, a collaborative interface design tool. I had a blog for a while called Beach Bi-Weekly and love going down internet rabbit holes. I grew up in Davidson, North Carolina (go Steph Curry)! and live in San Francisco with my wife and our golden retriever. — Kevin Beach

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PHYSICAL

• Gymnastic rings. In the pandemic I built quite a nice outdoor gym in my side yard. The best purchase by far are my gymnastic rings, which I hung from the bars of my fire escape. I primarily do hangs, pull-ups and skin the cat’s. The rings are better than a pull-up bar because the instability engages your core and allows for a more free range of motion.
• Vitamix e310 is the Cadillac of blenders. When my wife and I were making smoothies every day we decided to spring for this blender. All the Vitamix’s are top-notch, and we got this one on an amazon deal. We do smoothies, soups and nut butters in our Vitamix.
• Dryer balls, accelerate drying time by absorbing moisture and help prevent static on your clothes. As a bonus, I used 3 of them to start learning how to juggle 🙂.

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DIGITAL

• Conan needs a friend podcast. A few months ago I realized most of my podcasts were all about self-improvement and I was in need of a laugh. Conan needs a friend is the salve I needed. I never watched Conan during his late night days and the longer unscripted format works better for his improv genius. I recommend listening to Bill Burr or Taylor Tomlinson.
• Book I’m reading – Who makes the NBA? A writer + data scientist announced on X, he was writing a book in 30 days about the NBA. How did he do it? Leveraging AI for all of the data analysis, graphs and illustrations. He did the writing and posted his daily progress on X. This is not a C- book written by ChatGPT, the writer is a former NYT bestseller leveraging AI to write a book in 30 days that he said would previously have taken him 1-2 years to complete.

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INVISIBLE

• Astronaut Jim Lovell said he looked back at the earth from space and realized, you don’t go to heaven when you die. You go to heaven when you’re born.

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What’s in your NOW?

We want to know what’s in your now — a list of 6 things that are significant to you now — 3 physical, 2 digital and 1 invisible. 

If you’re interested in contributing an issue, use this form to submit: https://forms.gle/Pf9BMuombeg1gCid9

If we run your submission in our newsletter and blog, we’ll paypal you $25.

01/10/24

Book Freak 148: Being Aware of Being Aware

Rupert Spira's insights into understanding our true nature

Get Being Aware of Being Aware

Being Aware of Being Aware, by Rupert Spira, is an exploration of consciousness and the nature of reality. Spira, with a profound interest in the nature of reality from an early age, studied under the guidance of teachers in the Advaita Vedanta tradition and others, leading him to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishna Menon and Kashmir Shaivism​​.

The Pursuit of Happiness

“Everybody loves happiness above all else… This search also takes the form of resistance to whomever or whatever is perceived to jeopardize our happiness… seeking and resistance are the two main impulses that govern the thoughts and feelings… most of us never question the origin of our suffering.”​​

This quote highlights the universal quest for happiness, often sought in external factors. This relentless pursuit, a mix of seeking pleasure and avoiding discomfort, underscores a deeper, unexamined sense of lack or suffering.

Awareness in Experience

“All objective experience is known. We are aware of our experience… Our current thought, a memory of childhood, whatever emotions or feelings are present, the sensation of pain or hunger, the sound of traffic, the sight of these words or the view from our window are all known or experienced.”​​

This passage emphasizes that awareness is a constant in every experience. Regardless of the nature of our thoughts or sensations, their very existence proves our awareness.

The Peaceful Nature of Awareness

“Just as a screen is never agitated by the drama in a movie, so being aware or awareness itself is never disturbed by the content of experience… This is not a fragile peace… but an inherent peace that is always available in the background of experience.”​​

Spira compares awareness to a screen, undisturbed by the myriad experiences it witnesses. This metaphor illustrates awareness’s inherently peaceful nature, unaffected by life’s volatility.

Meditation and Self-Awareness

“Meditation is the disentangling of awareness from its own activity… Meditation is the subsidence of the activity of mind and the subsequent revelation of the very essence of the mind –pure knowing or awareness –to itself”​​.

Here, meditation is redefined as not just a practice but as a state of being where awareness recognizes itself, separate from its engagements and activities.

Practical Strategies for Readers:

• Reflect Deeply: Consider how your external pursuit of happiness might be a response to an unexplored inner sense of lack.
• Cultivate Mindful Awareness: Regularly pause to acknowledge your awareness of thoughts and experiences, rather than getting lost in them.
• Embrace Meditation: Use meditation to understand the nature of your mind and awareness, focusing on awareness itself rather than seeking specific states.
• Practice Self-Inquiry: Frequently ask, “Who is experiencing this?” to direct your attention to the essence of awareness.

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01/9/24

Respiratory Health

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 68

Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

Improved face mask

Totobobo Mask

This is a new design of respirator which has advantages for mass distribution, emergency preparedness, and multi-ethnic populations. I’ve been using/testing it for 5 or 6 years in the Unorganized Borough in Alaska.

The respirator can be cut with scissors to fit faces properly. Because they are clear, fit is easily ascertained. A clear respirator may mean they are more acceptable culturally (the face is not hidden).

The filters are replaceable. They allow a lot of air to pass through so can be useful in bike riding and outdoor work. They also allow moisture to pass through; I haven’t found the exhaled moisture to be a problem except in subzero temperatures (quite a bit of condensation then).

Instead of storing respirators of every size, only one size needs to be stored for emergency use. One doesn’t need to check sizes before distributing the respirators. Respirators can be cleaned and re-used by the individual (replace filters). I have seen them be used for pandemics, volcanoes, dust, woodworking, and cycling, and I am hoping to continue testing them in Alaska where we have faces from many different populations. — Pamela Bumsted

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Sensible worrying

Get Pandemic Ready

All of the scary end-of-the world disasters to worry about, a global pandemic is the one you should really worry about. Because you can do something about it. Smaller pandemics are pretty much inevitable in our modern world, and even they will be a major disruption. This site is a prepper site dedicated to the unique challenges of preparing for a serious pandemic. Most of your life would be impacted: hygiene, travel, treatment, etc. These folks, backed by official preparedness plans, offer extensive tasks you can do to minimize impact. — KK

• Guidelines for Minimizing the Spread of Virus1. Set up a separate room after a pandemic starts, before anyone is sick.Remove all unneeded items from the room. This will make cleaning and disinfection easier. Consider removing curtains. If possible choose a room that isclose to its own bathroom. If no separate bathroom is possible, consider preparingfor an RV chemical toilet or other separate toilet.
  
  Choose a room that is as far away from the rest of the family as is feasible. Possibilities include: guest house, mobile home/camper/trailer house, loft abovea garage, spare bedroom, partition of a larger room (to be screened off with plastic).
  Laundry. Always put gloves on before handling any laundry – bedding, towels, clothing, etc. Carefully place laundry in a plastic bag until time to launder.Wash separately from other household laundry in warm water and detergent.
  Drinks/Meals. Use disposable cups, bowls, plates and utensils to save cleanup time and reduce the chance of the virus spreading.

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Real time flu news

Fluwiki Forum (Old Forum)

Influenza = Uncertainty. Rumors. Caution. Hysteria. Pandemic. No, wait, a media frenzy. Or maybe, serious medical worry. Where can you go to find out the latest?

The best source for the latest published news from around the world on the emerging flu viruses (and other viruses of human health concerns) is the Fluwiki Forum. This site was started for tracking the avian H5N1 virus, and is now trying to keep up with this latest outbreak, whatever it is. The in-depth and comprehensive background material on flu available on the Fluwiki itself is excellent ballast for the froth of “news.” — KK

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Nasal irrigator

Neti Pot

My brother-in-law introduced me to the neti pot, for nasal irrigation, about three years ago. He had had chronic sinus infections that have largely stopped since he started using it. Since I began using it, I’ve had fewer illnesses and just breathe easier. I used to take decongestants regularly in order to sleep soundly (due to mild allergies), but haven’t in the past three years, since the neti pot became part of my daily routine. My sinuses don’t dry out as much during winter anymore, and my wife says my snoring has decreased.

The neti pot flushes your sinuses of pollutants, allergens, pollen and dust that build up during the day. By flushing your sinuses you allow your nose to do its secondary job more effectively — keep the bad stuff out. It also has the added benefit of relieving sinus headaches and congestion. The interesting thing is, it’s been around for a long time (several thousand years) and is used by many yoga practitioners to ease breathing during meditation. Eight ounces of warm tap water and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (with no iodine) is all it takes to wash the grime away, and that’s a lot cheaper than over-the-counter decongestants.

I recommend getting a neti pot with a pot belly look, like the Himalayan Institute one available from Amazon. I’ve tried two other brands/styles and they don’t provide as consistent water pressure through the nose. Currently I use my neti pot once a day, in the evenings, to wash the day’s grime away and help with sleeping.

Try it once or twice and you’ll agree your sinuses have rarely felt better or clearer. As a side note, if it burns a little, stop and add a tad more salt. Too little salt and the water won’t flow well through the nasal cavity. If you’ve had a broken nose, please check with your doctor to make sure your nasal cavity is still properly aligned for nasal irrigation. — Jeff Young

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Cleanest air filter

IQAir HealthPro Plus

Many of us live in environments or buildings where air quality is poor or downright unhealthy, and many airborne pollutants and allergens end up in in our lungs. Depending on your sensitivity, age and other factors, what you can’t see (bacteria, pet allergens, mold spores, dust, pollen, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), etc.) can hurt you. The smaller the particulate, the easier it can get into your lungs and cause problems.

I was introduced to the HealthPro Plus by my partner, who suffers from bad asthma and allergies. She had been using one for a couple of years and has come to depend on it to keep her bedroom in a breathable state. I got one for my place and immediately noticed the difference, from particulate in the air to the amount of dust collecting on surfaces. I had been using another mass market HEPA filter, but apparently it hadn’t been doing a thorough job at all (I live in an urban environment with rather poor air quality).

The control panel allows you to set a variety of settings and monitor filter life (which varies widely based on usage). There are 6 fan speed settings, from 40 cfm (cubic feet per minute) to a cranking 240 cfm. You can do the math and figure out how many times per hour the HealthPro Plus can cycle all of the air in the room. It’s surprisingly quiet at the lowest setting, and sounds a bit like an oncoming tornado at the top setting.

It is also worth noting that IQAir – a 45+ year old Swiss company – is very responsive, and that the unit comes with a 5 year warranty. I had a small issue with my power supply and I was able to call IQAir and reach someone who handled the return efficiently. They even FedEx’d me shipping materials and overnighted the unit back to me.

I can only point out two obvious downsides to the HealthPro Plus. One is that it’s expensive – it is more than twice the cost of most other high end systems on the market (though worth the money in my opinion), and replacement filters are also somewhat pricey. The second is that it is another large beige box in an age of too many beige boxes. Placing it aesthetically in the room while also allowing for maximum air exchange can take some finesse (there is also a compact model). If you’re interested in filtration for your whole house, IQAir makes air purification systems that connect to HVAC which are very well reviewed.

I did a bunch of research on air purification systems before buying one, and among everything I’ve seen the HealthPro Plus always came out on top.

01/8/24

100-year hosting/Beat the dropshippers/Brag document

Recomendo - issue #391

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100-year hosting

Creative types who create a lot of content online may wonder what becomes of their work after they die. Keeping it going for more than one generation would be a challenge. It is not like books, which can continue without effort. How much would it cost to have your websites and archives guaranteed to remain online and running for 100 years? The folks at WordPress, the software behind half of todays’ websites, will keep your stuff going and hosted for 100 years for $38,000, which works out to $380 per year. As more and more of my work is digital, I am very tempted by their 100-Year Hosting Plan. — KK

Beat the dropshippers

When I’m using Instagram, I get served quite a few ads for electronic gadgets and kitchen tools. If I see something I’m interested in buying, I don’t buy it from the advertiser, because they are a dropshipper who marks up the price by a factor of five or more. Instead, I go to AliExpress and search for the product there. That’s where the dropshippers go to find products and the prices are much cheaper. — MF

Brag Document Template

This post by Julia Evans addresses the misconception that doing good work automatically gets recognized and rewarded, and instead encourages you to maintain a “brag document.” A brag document is your personal record of accomplishments, contributions and learning experiences at work. This can be helpful in promotions and raises when your yearly review rolls around — but more than that it’s a good practice for reflection and discovering possibilities for future development. Here’s the template. — CD 

Budget Japan

Japan is open to tourists again. Despite its reputation, Japan can be one of the cheaper developed places to travel in. Currently their exchange rate per dollar is the highest it has been in many decades. This 11-minute video by Abroad in Japan will give you all the concrete details on how to travel in Japan with minimal money. It was posted 6 years ago, but the info is still valid. — KK

List of Multiple Intelligences

I liked learning about the 9 types of intelligence based on a theory by Psychologist Howard Gardner. They are: Visual-spatial, Linguistic-verbal, Logical-mathematical, Body-kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, and recently added Existential. Here’s an info-graphic and another chart I found helpful. I know what comes easily to me, but this makes me want to develop the intelligences I struggle with: spatial, logical-mathematical and bodily-kinesthetic. My plan in 2024 is to draw more, build puzzles, and maybe try sculpting. — CD

What’s in Matt Mullenweg’s bag?

Every year, Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, posts a photo of the things he carries in his travel bag, along with detailed descriptions. His 2023 photo includes 53 items plus a backpack that holds everything. The thing I want the most from his list is the Rolling Square inCharge XL 6-in-1 Multi Charging Cable. — MF

01/7/24

What’s in my NOW? — Kevin Beach